Polanski faces Green rival in bid for Keir Starmer's former seat
Green party leader Zack Polanski is facing internal opposition in his bid to contest the Holborn and St Pancras byelection, with Camden councillor Hamza Chowdhury also seeking the nomination. The byelection was confirmed for 8 October following Keir Starmer's formal resignation as an MP.
Zack Polanski, leader of the Green party of England and Wales, announced on Thursday that he intends to seek the nomination to contest the Holborn and St Pancras seat vacated by Keir Starmer. The byelection date, 8 October, was confirmed following Starmer's formal resignation as an MP.
However, Polanski's candidacy has run into resistance from within his own party. Hamza Chowdhury, a Green councillor in Camden, north London, announced he is also seeking the nomination. In an Instagram post, Chowdhury said he had secured nominations from six other Camden Green councillors, meaning seven of the council's ten Green representatives oppose Polanski's selection. Among them is Lorna Russell, leader of the Camden Green group, which forms the official opposition to Labour on the council.
Chowdhury argued that Polanski, who lives in east London, would be unable to properly represent the area. He wrote that he knows Camden from daily experience and that the constituency does not need an MP who appears only during election campaigns, hands out leaflets and then disappears once votes are counted, but rather one who is present and visible year-round.
Speaking to reporters while canvassing in the constituency over the weekend, Polanski said that even if he wins, he will not relocate to the area but will cycle in from his flat in Hackney. He said he can reach the constituency quickly by bike and would regularly be present there, holding surgeries and representing residents.
Local party members are due to vote on a candidate later this week, and reports suggest they broadly support Polanski's candidacy. The situation is complicated by the fact that the vote falls just a week after the Greens' conference, meaning the final weekend of campaigning coincides with many activists gathering in Brighton. Polanski has described his party as the underdog in a seat Starmer won with a majority of more than 11,000 votes in 2024, and hopes to replicate the approach that helped the Greens overturn a Labour majority of more than 13,000 in Gorton and Denton, Greater Manchester, in February.
